1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the art of displaying and handling fabric bolts. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a portable hanger and a method of using the same for the convenient handling of fabric bolts and for the efficient display of fabric bolts from conventional store fixtures.
2. Description of Related Art
Fabric is typically sold at retail in the form of a fabric bolt, wherein the fabric is rolled on a hollow tube having closed ends. Such fabric bolts are often displayed in retail outlets either flat on tables or on wire frames. However, these types of display fixtures do not efficiently use the available merchandising space in that the space underneath the table or frame is unused. The use of such fixtures for the display of fabric bolts also makes the fabric bolts difficult for the consumers to view, select, and handle. Finally, because fabric bolts can be awkward to handle, such display fixtures can be difficult to load and unload.
Specialized display racks have also been suggested for merchandising fabric bolts. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,222,190; 3,272,345; 3,739,918; and 4,018,340 each disclose racks wherein an upstanding loop of wire is attached to a horizontal support means such as a shelf or a pair of bars. A fabric bolt is slipped over the loop of wire so as to be supported and displayed in a generally vertical orientation.
Such display structures lack flexibility, however, in that the means for attaching the upstanding loop to the support is dependent on the type of rack that is used. For example, the cloth bolt holder of U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,918 includes a pair of feet which slidably engage the pair of bars that supports the upstanding loop. The shape and separation of the feet thus depend on the shape and separation of the pair of bars. As a result, the disclosed attachment means may not be useable with existing display racks. For example, these references do not disclose means for displaying fabric bolts from standard fixtures used to display hanging merchandise. The references also fail to disclose means for facilitating the loading and unloading of fabric bolts onto display racks.
Other fabric displays require the fabric to be wrapped around a support. For example, Ullman U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,281 discloses a fabric hanger having a generally rectangular frame that is provided with piercing hooks. To display a length of fabric, one end of the fabric is hooked onto the piercing hooks, the fabric is wrapped around the frame, and the trailing end of the fabric is also hooked on a piercing hook. Such structures do not efficiently display fabric bolts where the fabric is already rolled on a support such as a hollow tube.